Worship Planning Team Meeting
The worship planning team will meet Tuesday, February 3rd at 4:30 pm in the church library to plan the season of Lent (02.18.2026 – 04.03.2026).
Grace Lutheran Church invites you!
Event: Saturday, Feb. 7, free morning retreat: The illusion of perfectionism: a journey toward wholeness
Contact: Connie Lannan, 309-945-5152
Struggle with perfectionism? This free retreat is for you
Society pushes us to continually excel, improve and be better. While these can be positive aspirations, they also can spiral into us thinking our worth is proven only through our capacity to do things and our ability to constantly better ourselves. Can we pause and find another way? Can we ever see ourselves as enough? Can we mute our inner critic?
All those questions and more will be explored when the Spiritual Growth Mission at Grace Lutheran Church, Davenport, presents “The illusion of perfectionism: a journey toward wholeness,” a free retreat featuring the Rev. Melinda Pupillo, campus chaplain and director of spiritual development at Augustana College, Rock Island, on Saturday, Feb. 7. The retreat, open to all in the greater Quad-City community, whether of the Christian faith or not, will take place from 9 a.m. to noon in the Pat Bell Hall at the church, 1140 E. High St. Refreshments will be served.
“I think there is a cultural expectation to strive, gain excellence and then continue striving, even to our own detriment in both our personal and professional lives,” says Pupillo, who sees these patterns in her own life.
“Much of my journey has been about struggling to be enough, consistently plagued by an inner perfectionist. For me, and many of my most talented peers, imposter syndrome is real. But it is my faith that has proven to be the best conversation partner to help shake me from these perfectionistic tendencies. Through my prayer and devotional life, I am able to pay better attention to who God has created me to be, and that I am enough — even better than enough,” she says.
This fixation with perfectionism has manifested itself in many ways, including how we experience the Divine. “We even want God to be perfect, and I don’t think that is helpful. Scripture might use the word perfect, but I believe perfection is a limited translation. God being perfect is about wholeness and fullness, being complete. This is hard for us to wrap our brains around, as God is much greater than what we can understand. In our discomfort with the unknowable, we make God to be this example of perfection, and therefore more understandable and predictable. Then we try to fit our own human striving into these same categories, too. Also, making God perfect and predictable puts the Divine in a box, limiting God’s capacity to fully show up,” she says, adding that it also limits our ability to see “that God looks at us with eyes of love and with this deep joy in how precious we are. What could it mean to look at ourselves in this way as we are going through the day?”
Those who attend this “uplifting, joyous and interactive morning session to reset, complete with time for learning as well as space for conversation, personal reflection and prayer, will gain some simple practices to see themselves as the amazing human beings they are. We will look at ways to gently nudge our own inner critic to silence and look at more ways of being more deeply integrated into the holy and seeing how we are lovely reflections of God’s holy presence in the world. We are not part of constantly falling short. We will see ourselves as part of the divine fabric,” she says.
Discover how to get off the perfectionist treadmill. Register today for this free retreat by calling the Grace Lutheran Church office at 563-322-0769 or completing the online form at www.gracewelcomesyou.org
Council Meeting
The monthly council meeting will be on Tuesday, February 17th at 6 pm in the church library.
Lent 2026 Schedule (watch for more information in future publications)
Wednesday, February 18th – Ash Wednesday Worship Service at 7 pm (sanctuary)
Sunday, February 22nd – 1st Sunday in Lent at 10 am (sanctuary)
Wednesday, February 25th -Midweek Supper #1 at 6 pm (gathering space) & Midweek Worship Service #1 at 7 pm (sanctuary)
Sunday, March 1st – 2nd Sunday in Lent at 10 am (sanctuary)
Wednesday, March 4th – Midweek Supper #2 at 6 pm (gathering space) & Midweek Worship #2 at 7 pm (sanctuary)
Sunday, March 8th – 3rd Sunday in Lent at 10 am (sanctuary)
Wednesday, March 11th – Midweek Supper #3 at 6 pm (gathering space) & Midweek Worship #3 at 7 pm (sanctuary)
Sunday, March 15th – 4th Sunday in Lent at 10 am (sanctuary)
Wednesday, March 18th – Midweek Supper #4 at 6 pm (gathering space) & Midweek Worship #4 at 7 pm (sanctuary)
Sunday, March 22nd – 5th Sunday in Lent at 10 am (sanctuary)
Wednesday, March 25th – Midweek Supper #5 at 6 pm (gathering space) & Midweek Worship #5 at 7 pm (sanctuary)
Sunday, March 29th – Palm/Passion Sunday at 10 am (sanctuary)
Thursday, April 2nd – Maundy Thursday Worship Service at 7 pm (sanctuary)
Friday, April 3rd – Good Friday Worship Service at 7 pm (sanctuary)